Policy Update (5 August 2025)

On Friday, 1 August, the Senate passed their first spending package for FY2026, which included the Agriculture-FDA Bill, the Legislative Branch Bill, and the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Bill. The House and the Senate are now both on recess until 2 September, and we will provide updates on the FY2026 Commerce, Justice, & Science funding situation next month after Congress is back in session. As mentioned in previous posts, Congress has limited time to pass and reach consensus on their 12 spending bills, and it is increasingly likely that we will see a Continuing Resolution or a government shutdown on 1 October. For more information, please check out: 

• Senate Passes First Funding Package Ahead of Shutdown Cliff (Politico) 
• What’s Happening in Space Policy 3-9 August 2025 (SpacePolicyOnline) 
• House FY2026 Appropriations Report: NASA, NSF, and DOE Details (AAS) 

Last week, the AAS submitted a Committee for the Protection of Astronomy and the Space Environment (COMPASSE) recommended comment to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to an FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which seeks to open more spectrum, including protected bands for radio astronomy, for commercial satellite use. The letter urges the FCC to exclude protected radio astronomy bands from repurposing in accordance with international regulations, and encourages new coordination zones around US radio astronomy facilities. You can read the letter here. 

The AAS is partnering with The Planetary Society, the American Geophysical Union, and other organizations for a Day of Action to Save NASA Science on 5-6 October 2025. Participants will be holding congressional meetings on the Hill to preserve NASA Science funding for FY2026 and ensure active science missions are not prematurely cancelled. If you are interested in participating, please register here. 

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